Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Mayor Zohran Mamdani an anti-semite during a contentious speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, as more than 100 protesters, including Democratic House candidates, entertainers and other elected officials, were arrested outside.
“Shame on you. Shame on you for distorting the facts,” Netanyahu said, calling out New York’s first Muslim mayor during a more than 20-minute speech defending Israel against allegations it committed genocide in Gaza.
Mayor Mamdani has been openly critical of the Israeli prime minister, sharing a video last month calling Netanyahu a war criminal — even as he backed off a previous promise to arrest him if he came to New York City.
While Mamdani has conspicuously avoided encouraging protests of Netanyahu’s speech, the mayor didn’t back down from his criticism, saying earlier this week that Netanyahu “is the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians.”
On Thursday, Mamdani responded to the prime minister’s comments, saying in a statement that Netanyahu had used his time during the annual gathering of world leaders “to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize the genocide of Palestinians.”
“Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Mamdani said.
A United Nations committee said in September 2025 that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu accused Mamdani of encouraging violence against Jewish New Yorkers, which he reiterated on Thursday.
“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” he said.
MORE: Mamdani and Irish Leader Talk Housing on G Train, as Palestine-Israel Looms at UN Meeting
Earlier Thursday, the mayor posted a video that showed him planting an olive tree at Gracie Mansion the night before alongside Palestinian families. They also shared dinner inside the mayor’s official residence.
Many leaders and other delegates walked out of the General Assembly in protest before Netanyahu’s speech.
Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized the protest outside the UN, said elected officials, nominees for Congress, and musicians and actors joined hundreds of Jewish, Palestinian, Iranian and Lebanese New Yorkers to protest the speech.
A total of 104 protestors were arrested after blocking traffic with signs calling on the United States to stop arming Israel. The list includes City Councilmembers Alexa Avilés, Jennifer Gutiérrez, and Chi Ossé; and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher.
At least two leading candidates for Congress were also arrested, including Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for a district spanning Upper Manhattan and The Bronx.
Avila Chevalier campaign spokesperson Natalia Latif confirmed she was among those arrested, but the campaign did not know her exact whereabouts.
Former city comptroller Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for a U.S. House seat in Manhattan and Brooklyn, was also arrested, according to Jewish Voice for Peace.
It was not the first time either Ossé or Avila Chevalier were arrested during protests this year.
Ossé was arrested in Brooklyn this spring protesting the eviction of a constituent who alleged she was a victim of deed theft.
Avila Chevalier was arrested on April 13 in another anti-war event organized by Jewish Voice for Peace outside of the Manhattan office of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader. Avila Chevalier is a staunch supporter of Palestine and was a leader of the Columbia University encampments before running for office and defeating the longtime incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in one of the biggest primary upsets of the 2026 midterms.
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